7.- Preparations
"Sakura!"
My right hand trembled behind Sasuke's neck. I still hadn't fully absorbed what I had just done, but when I felt his forehead pressed against my chest, I reacted.
The echo of Ino's voice still echoed in my mind and I slowly came to terms with my actions:
I had just knocked Sasuke unconscious with a blow to the head; his weakened state did not allow him to withstand the impact. Ino looked at me in horror; the man on the floor was twitching to wake up, and I was breathing heavily, anxious about the situation.
"Sakura." Ino spoke again, her trembling voice showing that she was just as scared as I was.
"Sasuke is alive, I just knocked him unconscious so I can get whatever's hurting him out of his system. I need time, if the guard wakes up now, I won't be able to finish the job."
"I saw something, something terrible."
"Put another patch on the guard, I need him to stay asleep. When we get out of here, you'll tell me everything you saw in his memories, for now just keep him quiet."
I laid Sasuke on the bed and focused all my chakra into my hands to use them with precision. I would locate large amounts of the poison that was affecting him.
While I had been told that Sasuke was immune to most poisons, the one they had given him in the water was not on that list. I felt anger as I imagined that they had studied him to the point where they knew which things would hurt him.
His thin body worried me; his health could not improve if he continued to suffer from malnutrition. My eyes were swollen and tired from crying, and even though he asked me for one last favor, I would not let him die. Sasuke did not deserve this punishment and humiliation, and all those who agreed to this barbarism would pay dearly.
In a jar, I kept some of the liquid I had extracted, which I would later analyze along with the water Sasuke had kept under the bed. I wanted to believe that he had hidden the liquid he did not want to drink with the intention that I could help him.
I finished removing a large amount of the poison from his system; I wiped the sweat from my brow and stood watching Sasuke. His breathing was slow and leisurely, I put my hand on his chest and felt his heart beating.
All I could think about was how much he was suffering and it fueled my anger. Too many thoughts entered my head and they all coincided.
"Sakura, the guard is about to wake up, what should we do?"
I looked at Ino who was kneeling in front of the man who was still lying on the floor. I closed my medical kit and took a last look at Sasuke before I left the cell.
"Let's make him think he fainted." I said and crouched down.
"Okay."
Ino patted the man's face and he slowly opened his eyes in confusion. He looked at both of us and frowned, then sat up and rubbed his neck.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Are you all right?" I asked, "You suddenly pass out, did you get enough sleep?"
"What? Did I faint?" He grabbed a pole and stood up, he looked into the cell, "What happened to the Uchiha?"
Ino and I got up as well.
"He fell asleep." I answered.
"Asleep?" He looked at us incredulously and went into the cell. "Curiously, I fainted and woke up to find the inmate in a state of unconsciousness, what the hell did you do?"
"We didn't do anything, Sasuke is very weak and this weakness has made him like this: tired, no energy. He is not eating well, and of course a poorly fed person would end up like this. The right question would be: What are you doing to Sasuke?" I said angrily and looked into the eyes of the guard.
The guard ignored my question and put his hand on Sasuke's wrist, probably to feel his pulse. Then he ran his fingers over the bandage covering his eyes and it burned inside me; he was making sure his eyes were still there.
"Looks like everything's okay. Well, visiting hours are over."
Ino turned around but stopped when she looked at me, I didn't move and all my attention was on the man in the uniform.
"Tell me your name, Mr. Guard." I asked.
"Huh? What's that for?"
"Nothing special, it's to fill out my report and hand it in, I need your name."
He squealed in annoyance and pulled the gate shut.
"Aren't you going to tell me?"
"You don't have to, Doctor," he turned and looked me in the face. "Just write: Guard on duty. Now stand down."
I looked at Sasuke on the bed, he was still not conscious. He would hold out because I had removed much of the poison from his system, but I had to act quickly before the feudal lords beat me to it.
"Ichiro Kino, Chunin, born in the land of grass. His family moved to the Land of Fire when he was six years old, so he entered the Ninja Academy and became a shinobi of that land. He is married and has two daughters.
Sai was too good at gathering information, Ino looked at him astonished and then turned to me. We were a few meters away from the prison in the middle of the forest.
"You did a great job, Sai." I said.
He closed the booklet in his hands and put it in the backpack hanging from his shoulder.
"So, what did you see, Ino?"
My blonde friend swallowed saliva and cleared her throat. She had seen through the guard's last memories half an hour before he was knocked unconscious.
"I caught a glimpse of the moment when he picked up the plate where Sasuke was served his food. Sasuke told him to put the glass down as he would continue to drink from it. The guard took the bowl into the kitchen where he spoke to a man with brown skin and gray eyes, he said something to her". She wrinkled her forehead as if trying to remember. "The exact phrase was 'orders carried out'. He mentioned something about how it would be good for the boss to know that everything was being followed to the letter." She revealed, "This is definitely a plot against Sasuke.
I bit my thumb as I considered my next move. It was more than obvious that the feudal lords had been planning this for a long time, and surely it had not come to fruition because the price of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan were being negotiated.
"Sakura?" Ino spoke again, "Are you all right? I thought this news would surprise you."
"Unless you already knew," Sai replied and they both looked at me.
"Is that true Sakura? Did you already know what they're going to do to Sasuke?"
"I suspected it but I wasn't sure." I said.
"Then what are we going to do? Are we going to tell Kakashi Sensei?"
"No, no way," I said, "No one can know about this, not Kakashi sensei, not Naruto, no one! If we involve more people, we won't be able to save Sasuke."
Sai stepped forward.
"You already have a plan, don't you? You've been too serious for days now, your attitude, everything about you seems to have changed, it's like you're not Sakura anymore. Is there something else you know and you're hiding?"
There was a silence between us, but the pupils of my eyes focused on Sai's eyes. To tell him or not to tell him, what would be the consequences and how would it affect my plans? Sai was good at gathering information, maybe he could help me. Ino could also be a key player, trusting them would make it easier for me to achieve my goals.
"I want you to know that I'm not going to watch Sasuke get killed. I'm going to take revenge on all those damn people who dared to humiliate him like that, so I'm not going to let anyone stand in my way. If you are willing to help me, then you will be part of my strategy."
"Sakura..."
"I won't drag you into this if you don't want to, but I will ask you to keep the secret as if your life depended on it."
"There's no way I'm going to let you down," Ino replied, "I can't bear to see you like this, so if you've already planned something, let me help you."
"If Ino joins in, so will I. I think I can be useful."
"Very well, in that case, I need a favor... Give me the scheduled date for the next feudal meeting, I want a list with the names of the powerful men who will attend the meeting, I also want to know where it will be held... Ah!" I twiddled my fingers, "And I also want to know what the menu will be." I smiled.
"Menu? You mean what they are going to eat?" I nodded, "Is that necessary?"
"Sakura, aren't you thinking about...?"
"Yes, I am thinking about it," I argued. "If those bastards dared to poison Sasuke, then they deserve a taste of their own medicine. I wonder... Who will be the doctor who has the cure to heal them?"
I laughed, putting a hand to my mouth to appease my action, but the empty and malicious smile would not be easily erased, the simple fact of imagining revenge was satisfying.
"This is very dangerous," Sai said. "Poisoning the most powerful men of the nations could mean war again, do you know that?
"Sai, Sai, Sai... Do you think they'll have time to prepare for war? They'll be eager to find someone to heal them, but the last thing they'll be thinking about is a battle... It's obvious that heads will roll, but that's not my concern anymore."
"How will that save Sasuke?" Ino asked.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
I knew well that my friends were not completely convinced of the plan, but I was grateful that they trusted me and kept their word not to say anything. Sai was in charge of getting all the information I needed, Ino helped me analyze the sample of the liquid Sasuke had drunk, and when we had the results, we began to draw conclusions.
All our investigations were done in my apartment and after work so as not to arouse suspicion.
"It's true. The water has a percentage of a poisonous element," Ino said while reading the sheet with the values, "it is a small amount, but if he has been drinking it for days, in the long run the poison will end his life.
"What else do we know? What kind of poison is it?"
"According to the plant book, it comes from a fungus that grows in pine forests. It thrives in humid environments with temperatures between seventeen and twenty-three degrees Celsius."
"We don't have any pine forests in this country, do we?
"No, much less in these temperatures," she said, taking another book from the table, "but there is one interesting fact. This type of mushroom is common in the Land of Grass, where pine forests abound. It is strange because the prison where Sasuke is being held is on the border of that country."
I didn't say anything because I was thinking of the son of the lord.
"Do you have any suspicions? You've been silent."
"Tomaru Namiko.
"What? Who is it?" She asked.
"The son of the feudal lord of the Grass Land. Sai told me about him, he's next in line to inherit his father's position, and oddly enough, he's visually impaired. He's been very involved in Sasuke's affair and I think he's the one behind all this pulling of strings about the auction."
"Auction? What auction?"
I looked at Ino, she was confused. I forgot that I hadn't told her everything I knew.
"The feudal lords want to auction Sasuke's eyes among themselves, they are carrying out a macabre plan to buy them as if they were a toy."
"Are you kidding me? What the hell?!" She put both hands over her mouth. "How do you know this? It's horrible, Kakashi sensei has to find out."
"Kakashi Sensei already knows."
"Then why...?"
"I don't know, it was a secret meeting and I snuck out to hear everything. It was obvious that Kakashi Sensei was angry and wanted to stop everything, but he doesn't have enough power to order anything. I don't know if he's looking for a way to save Sasuke right now, but if I tell him my plans, I'm sure he'll do everything he can to stop me and I'm not giving up."
"We'll be in trouble if we get caught, how about that?"
"Don't worry, no one will discover us. I'll protect them from any trouble and in any case, if the plan fails, I'll be the one to be punished."
Ino slapped the table and stood up, she looked at me horrified and then grabbed my shoulders.
"Stop it, Sakura! What is all this? When did you become like this? This is dangerous!"
"I don't care if it's dangerous, I already told you that no one in Konoha will be affected. If I don't act, no one will save Sasuke. I can't wait for divine justice or the laws to take over, these men want to play dirty and they will."
"But I don't understand how you're going to get him released."
"You'll see when the time comes."
Determined to continue with my plan, Ino stopped asking questions and concentrated on helping me with the preparations. The image of Sasuke running through my mind gave me the courage to continue.
Whoever had given him the poison had done so in small doses to immobilize him and break down his defenses. My hypothesis was that they wanted him to get to the point where he could not even move in order to take advantage and extract his eyes, because they needed him alive for that, and then they would kill him.
Ichiro Kino, the guard, was in charge of delivering the contaminated water, and his accomplice was that dark man with gray eyes. I didn't know for sure how many people in the prison were involved in the matter, but at least those two men were in the crosshairs along with Tomaru, the son of the lord.
In order to carry out my strategy, I needed to create a poison similar to the one they used on Sasuke, but with resources from the Grass Land. I would be the only one to have an antidote, no one would be able to find a way to reverse the effects, and they would come begging for my help. Although there were too many ninja doctors with high skills in the shinobi world, I would show them that only Sakura Haruno held the way to save them.
I worked on it and the antidote for two days in a row. I put all my efforts into it, my heart would not pity any of them.
"This is the list with all the names of the participants, the attendees will be the feudal lords and the scientist. The place where the meeting will be held, the time, and even who will be in charge of the banquet are also noted there."
Sai handed me a folder containing the documents. Standing in the middle of the room with his dark suit and serious look, I wondered what he thought of me.
"Thank you."
Sakura, you didn't tell me about the auction. I guess you already knew."
"Indeed, why do you think I'm full of rage against those men?"
"Are you absolutely sure about what you are planning?"
I tightened my grip on the folder.
"Yes. I won't tempt my heart. They don't deserve it."
"I want to tell you something else... Tomaru Namiko has contacts in the Fire Country, a scientist named Kihiro who works with Konoha's Research and Archive Department and also has connections to Tomaru. You say that the poison they gave Sasuke is one of those that damages his organism."
"That's right."
"Strange, isn't it? Few people know that Sasuke is immune to many poisons thanks to Orochimaru, but strangely enough, this poison can harm him. It could be that the scientist discovered this and told Tomaru."
"Your assumption makes sense," I said. Sasuke's eyes have a lot of monetary value on the black market, so I'm not surprised that this scientist is after them. Everyone thinks they will profit from such a despicable act."
Sai crossed his arms and lowered his eyes.
"They are monsters," he said.
"They are."
He turned his gaze to me.
"Do what you have to do, and if you need me, call me."
I shook my head.
"So be it."
I opened the folder to read the names of everyone involved.
•Tomaru Namiko, eldest son of the lord of the Grass Land.
•So Namiko, Feudal Lord of the Land of Grass.
•Akiyama Datori, Feudal Lord of the Land of Lightning.
•Owani Jo, Feudal Lord of the Land of Earth.
•Mura Kayohito, Feudal Lord of the Land of Water.
•Ryo Wu, Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind.
•Eiki An, Feudal Lord of the Land of Tea.
•Ichiro Kino, Chunin prison guard.
•Taishi Taro, in charge of the prison kitchen.
•Kurumaya Seto, prison warden.
•Kihiro, scientist of Konoha.
And even though our Feudal Lord Yuto Shoryu had behaved a little better than the others, I also had to involve him to make the situation worse. But with him, it would be different.
I looked at the place where the auction would be held: Ash Tower, Grassland.
A smile played on my lips.
"How convenient." I said.
"We have three days before it happens, we should prepare step by step so we don't make any mistakes," Sai said.
"Tomorrow after work the three of us will meet here and divide the tasks. The guard, the kitchen manager and the warden will not be at this meeting, but they will also get what they deserve, I just have to think of how they will pay for it."
"I understand. About the Hokage... I heard that he is considering how to avoid the auction, do you think he already has something in mind and the meeting will be canceled?"
"I don't underestimate Kakashi Sensei, but in this situation, the Hokage cannot avoid anything. We will act well ahead of him so as not to interfere with his work, we can only trust that things will go according to plan."
"What about Naruto? He's Sasuke's friend, do you think it's right not to tell him?
"Sai, you know Naruto. He's impulsive and will want to smash the faces of everyone involved, which doesn't suit us. The best thing to do is to play it safe and corner them at their own game. I want to hear their groans." I opened the folder.
"Sakura."
I looked at Sai.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want to be rude, although I have been most of the time, but... I look at you and I feel like you're someone else. I don't judge you, you know? Hate makes the heart bitter, but it's sad that such a happy person as you is consumed by revenge.
"Sometimes you have to hate to get things done," I said. "Battles are not won with love."
"In fact, I think you're wrong. Battles are won with a strong sense of love: love of money, love of life, love of yourself... In your case, your love for Sasuke drove you to become someone else."
"I am still me, nobody has changed me. Maybe deep down I was already like that, but my ninja training and the thousands of rules kept the anger that injustice creates in me hidden. Not always bowing and obeying is the most sensible thing to do and you know it."
Sai remained silent.
"In that case, I wish you good luck, Sakura. Stepping into the abyss of revenge may turn out to be advantageous, but I hope you can get out of there once you're done with all this."
"I'll be fine, and so will Sasuke."
My fingers curled around the edges of the folder.
"It's the only hope for him."
